{ Black Lives Matter - Resources Main Page}

We have compiled a list of resources, blogs, artists to support, (and more to come) as just small ways to engage, relearn, and building an inclusive community - if there are things we are missing, or things you want to see on this list, let us know!:

Talking about inclusivity… what about Taxidermy?! We realize how taxidermy and the spiritual community can be a little hard to get into and gatekeeping-y … let’s try to dismantle that together. Here are some resources, lists, and free education that we feel are safe and guide you in the right direction:

{ Resources for Diversity & Inclusion }

In honor of John Lewis’s Legacy (a civil rights icon, activist, politician, Freedom Rider, and American leader), we wanted to share some ways you can follow in his foot steps (and it’s pretty darn simple); be active, be a voice, and vote. There are plenty of ways as allies you can help, and one of the most important ways is to educate yourself and take the time to have these conversations. It is actually astounding how much we weren’t taught in schools, so here are some guides for you a long the way:

Documentaries to watch:

  • John Lewis: Get in the Way

  • Freedom Riders

  • 13th

  • Jewel’s Catch One

  • LA 92’

Books on history and a good starting point:

  • Across that Bridge by John Lewis

  • Your Silence Will Not Protect You by Audre Lorde

  • Why I’m No Longer Talking to White People About Race by Reni Eddo-Lodge

  • Walking with the Wind: A Memoir of the Movement by John Lewis

  • Stamped From The Beginning by Ibram X. Kendi

  • A People's History of the United States by Howard Zinn

  • White Rage by Carol Anderson

  • So You Want To Talk About Race by Ijeoma Oluo

  • Becoming by Michelle Obama

  • Tears We cannot Stop by Michael Eric Dyson

Books on Anti-Racism :

  • The Burning House: Jim Crow and the Making of Modern America by Anders Walker

  • The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness by Michelle Alexander

  • The Condemnation of Blackness: Race, Crime, and the Making of Modern Urban America by Khalil Gibran Muhammad

  • How to be an Antiracist by Ibram X. Kendi

  • Nobody: Casualties of America's War on the Vulnerable, from Ferguson to Flint and Beyond by Marc Lamont Hill

  • Lies My Teacher Told Me: Everything Your American History Textbook Got Wrong by James W. Loewen

  • Why Are All the Black Kids Sitting Together in the Cafeteria: And Other Conversations About Race by Beverly Daniel Tatum

  • The Color of Law: A Forgotten History of How Our Government Segregated America by Richard Rothstein

  • Blackballed: The Black Vote and U.S. Democracy by Darrel Pinckney

Fiction & Graphic Novels to read :

  • March ( a trilogy ) by John Lewis, Andrew Aydin, illustrator Nate Powell

  • Vanishing Half by Brit Bennett

  • Conjure Women by Afia Atakora

  • The Icarus Girl by Helen Oyeyemi

  • The Underground Abductor by Nathan Hale

If you are a Feminist, these topics matter to you too :

  • Beloved by Toni Morrison

  • How We Get Free: Black Feminism and the Combahee River Collective edited by Keeanga-Yamahtta Taylor

  • Black Feminist Thought: Knowledge, Consciousness and the Politics of Empowerment by Patricia Hill Collins

  • Ain't I A Woman: Black Women and Feminism by Bell Hooks

  • Bad Feminist by Roxane Gay

  • In Search of Our Mothers' Gardens: Womanist Prose by Alice Walker

  • Women Race & Class by Angela Y. Davis

  • Assata: An Autobiography by Assata Shakur

LGBTQ+ books to read:

  • Giovanni's Room by James Baldwin

  • Unapologetic: A Black, Queer, and Feminist Mandate for Radical Movements by Charlene Carruthers

  • No Tea, No Shade: New Writings in Black Queer Studies edited by E. Patrick Johnson

  • Since I Laid My Burden Down by Brontez Purnell

  • The Other Side of Paradise by Staceyann Chin

  • No Ashes in the Fire: Coming of Age Black & Free in America by Darnell L. Moore

  • The Summer We Got Free by Mia McKenzie

Book Lists to Follow: by Divya from Gotham Taxidermy on bookshop.org

References/Resources used:
Link to the anti-racist resource guide that Victoria Alexander created
Instagram & newspaper @goodgoodgoodco
Women Love Tech
Graphic Novels for Black, Brown, Queer Girls
bookshop.org
Willa’s Books and Vinyl, 1734 E 63rd St, Kansas City, MO 64110

{ New Location! }

 

Find us at the Front of the Bauer Building!!

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July is here, cicada season begins, & we are settled into our NEW SPACE!

Some rearranging has happened within the Bauer Building and we are so excited to announce that we are now in front of the building amongst all the store fronts! It was a tough decision for us to make during these times of uncertainty but something we felt necessary for the future; This larger space will allow us to not only have a larger work space but also allow us to have our events, popups, and open circle again! Obviously we still have your safety and health at the forefront of our minds - as the Bauer continues to open to the public, we will heighten sanitation and other safety measures to continue keeping the store open to you, safely. Please be aware that Covid numbers continue to rise, so please comply with building requirements of face masks and please stay home if you do not feel well xo

Until then, we are catching up on projects, new items slowly making their way into the shop, working on more lists of resources for how you can become proactive in your community, so.... stay tuned! Thank you so much for your support. And as we continue working on some minor build outs, (sorry!) excuse the mess, see you soon!

xo Alessandra

 

{ Oracle for the Revolution }

Oracle for the Revolution
(a cartomancy recipe)
by Laura Pensar

If you missed our little demo on Instagram, here is the recipe:

Ingredients:

  • Standard deck of 52 playing cards. (not plastic)

  • A fine point permanent marker.

  • Sandpaper or nail file.

Baking Instructions:

  1. Research and assemble quotes by 52 different Black activists, scholars, artists, writers, leaders that inspire, ignite, and impact you. Commit to learning something about each of these individuals as you gather the quotes. Read a full essay. Listen to a speech. Watch a documentary. If you are BIPOC, consider gathering quotes from family members and elders in your community you feel connected to. 

  2. Use the sandpaper to scuff the center area of each playing card and to remove or lessen the image so that you may write over it.

  3. Wipe the dust from the cards! Or your writing won’t stick very well. A very slightly damp cloth or paper towel works just fine.

  4. You can choose cards at random and begin writing the quotes or you can be structured in your approach and consciously match quotes to specific cards. (For my deck I am using these categories for the suits:

  • Hearts: community, relationships, emotions, Water

  • Diamonds: resources, health, Earth

  • Clubs: actions, passion, Fire

  • Spades: perspective, philosophy, ideas, Air

  1. Always attribute the quote to the individual who said/wrote it. As you finish writing their words on the card, thank them.

  2. Use your deck daily for inspiration, for learning, for reigniting alignment with the Black Lives Matter movement.

For the full video tutorial - link here! - https://www.youtube.com/oraclenaturalscience

{ Breaking Down Cartomancy }

If you are a part of Witch Club, this month’s box contained a bunch of info and guides for cartomancy; specifically focusing on guides to learning tarot cards! Cartomancy is the art of reading cards. But within cartomancy there are many different styles depending on the types of deck you use:

Tarot Decks: 78 cards total. Like their predecessor, playing cards, Tarot decks have suits. There are 5 suits in Tarot: Swords, Wands, Pentacles, Cups, and The Major Arcana. Tarot decks have a set structure, but artists have independent styles and interpretations of these archetypes which give each deck a unique feel. Tarot has multiple schools of philosophy and esoteric associations embedded in them which can make them intimidating. But reading Tarot for yourself can be a great meditative practice. Tarot cards also make good journaling prompts, inspiration draws, and ritual focal points.

Lenormand Decks: 36 cards total. Each Lenormand card has a specific single symbol which was based on traditional tea-leaf reading symbols. Because of the relatively simple symbolism of the Lenormand decks, they are easy to learn and give direct and practical readings. They are good for exploring day-to-day situations as well as questions about timing.

Oracle Decks: Technically an Oracle deck is any set of divination cards which do not fit into any of the other structured styles. Oracle decks are each unique and the symbolism and interpretations are entirely at the discretion of the deck creator. Oracle decks are good as inspiration or to add as an extra layer to a reading with Tarot.

-post by Laura of Moth & Candle

Each style of readings has it’s advantages and disadvantages, and it all falls to what style you feel more drawn to! Don’t have a deck but want to try out tarot? https://labyrinthos.co/ is a good resource; with an educational app that allows you to pull cards along with lessons to learn how to use the cards on your own. Stay tuned for more, as we deep dive Lenormand cards with Moth & Candle (@mothandcandle), on Tuesday 16th on instagram @oraclekc

 
 

Image of Obsidian Oracle Deck by Megan Buccere - available online and in-store - We have also put together a blog of brilliant decks by Black and people of color artists we are in love with (down below). But also… let’s talk about how my pull for today signifies needing movement forward, change, and sometimes needing to go for it in unorthodox way… might be a sign for some good movement (very much needed change) ahead :)

{ Black Lives Matter - Resources}

We have compiled a list of resources and other ways how you can help - if there are things we are missing, let us know and we will add it to the list!:

Sanitation Guide for Covid

Legal Help? - PDF Download of National Resources for Legal Help

Need Bail? - The Bail Project - non-profit organization to combat mass incarceration

KC Bail Fund? - kccommunitybailfund.com

Image Scrubber? - DIY guide to blur protest pictures

Foundations After a Good Cause:

  • Loveland Foundation - thelovelandfoundation.org - therapy fund and efforts to bring opportunity and healing to communities of color, especially for black girls and women

  • Tyler Thrasher “Raise Some Heck” - tylerthrasher.com - T-shirt sales by amazing artist and scientist, raising money for the Bail Project and help fund small science kits and projects for black families and kids stuck at home in Tulsa

Black-led LGBTQ+ Organizations:

  • House of GG - houseofgg.org - creating safe space for community to heal, focusing on trans women of color in the South

  • TransJustice Funding Project - transjusticefundingproject.org - grassroots trans justice group run by and for trans people

  • The Okra Project - theokraproject.com - collective that seeks global crisis faced by black trans people by bringing home cooked meals and resources to the community

  • Youth Breakout - youthbreakout.org - works to end criminalization of LGBTQ youth in New Orleans to build safer and more just community.

  • SNaPCo - snap4freedom.org - builds power of black trans and queer people to force systemic divestment from prison industrial complex and invest in community support.

  • Black AIDS Institute - blackaids.org - working to end the Black HIV epidemic

  • Trans Cultural District - transgenderdistrictsf.com - first ever legally recognized trans district which aims to stabilize and economically empower trans community

  • LGBTQ+ Freedom Fund - lgbtqfund.org - posts bail for LGBTQ people held in jail or immigrant detention, raises awareness of LGBTQ over incarceration.

Amazing People to Follow:

  • Corina Newsome - @hood_naturalist - zoo keeper turned biologist has organized #blackbirdersweeek & #blackandSTEM

  • Good Good Good - @goodgoodgoodco - Antiracism books & resources? newspaper & channel to help you feel more hopeful & do more good

  • Show Up for Racial Justice - @showingupforracialjustice - National network to help individuals organizing white people for racial justice

Articles about Change:

Keep your foot on the gas! Lets keep this going